Relative
by ClockGrimwood
Summary: Tom is going to have a surprise visit from a very DISTANT relative. Time Travel and snake's version of cat fights. Family violence, M to be safe but who knows.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"If you're not a witch, then why don't you jump?" The man yelled, showing his rotten yellow teeth, as he poked the wooden stick at her, jabbing her sides. Iris flinched a bit. Luckily she had thick robes on or else it would have been painful.

"Prove that you're not a witch! If ya dunt fly, that means ya not a witch." Another bellowed from back of the crowd.

"Jump! Jump!"

"If ya don't jump off the cliff, we'll make you jump!"

"Let god be with us and protect our children from this devil worshiper!" A woman screeched as she possessively clung on to her little boy.

The crowd literally had hysteria written all over their faces. They were screeching and pulling their own hair. Some were restlessly walking, tugging a piece of cloth in their mouths. Most were just balling their eyes ouch and on their knees praying. It wasn't a pleasant sight to see people freaking out that their crops grew over night. They took it as an omen sign.

"_I could study them for many years but I will never truly understand human_._" _Iris thought to her self as she quickly glanced from the crowd and the edge of the cliff.

"_The appreciation I get when I tried to help them from starvation. I thought they at least be grateful. Well I guess I don't have much of an option." _She scratched the back of her head as she watched her albino snake curled down to her hands.

"_You are in for a very rough landing. I hope it'll be painless. Judging by the distance to the bottom, which I can't even see, I'll say, you have a slim of survival…" _It hissed at her.

"_You don't have to tell me." _Iris was hesitant to looked down the cliff, but it was better than looking back at a group of people in hysteria.

"_You did this to yourself. Wingardium Leviosa won't help much. You're too heavy. Pity, if only you can fly,"_

"_You're not a very comforting, encouraging familiar. Bullocks, if only I took Rowena's apparition classes…Maybe we can get out of this predicament."_

"_This is just fantastic. I'm going to die without having my fangs grown in yet." _It hissed

Iris sighed and lowered her eyes down to her familiar. With a finger, she light stroked the top of the cold-blooded head. She only obtained her familiar a couple of years ago. She received it from her father when he was experimenting with breeding basilisk. It was one of a kind. It was suppose to grow up to 50 feet but unlike the usual basilisk where its eyes are oddly gold colored that paralyzes and kills its victims, this blue eye reptile was quite "safe" to look at. Now, she'll probably never see Klaus at his finest.

"_You have my deepest apology Klaus. I promise you the after life is much more…rewarding, "_

"_So…you're going to transcend or become spirit of the dead on earth, like your grandpa?" _The snakes hissed to a volume loud enough for the front of the crowd to hear.

Iris could here more screaming and shrieking but she just rolled her eyes and ignored them.

"_Depends on which path has the better benefits. I honestly think staying here for an eternity is irksome. Let's not forget to mention, watching pathetic humans for centuries is not very entertaining." _She replied.

"_True." _The white snake then slithered in to a pocket of her robes.

"She has the devil with her! She has the devil with her! The devil is in her hand! Just like what the scripture said!" A middle age man covered in poor dirty clothes shrieked and pointed and shrieked some more.

"We're doomed! We're doomed!"

"Oh that POOR GIRL! She's being possessed!"

The crowded back slightly backed away from her which eased Iris because their foul stench was about to make her nauseous.

"_There is no turning back. No one turns their back from death." Klaus hissed. _

Iris quickly turned her body to face the crowd. Her sudden movement caused many to jump on their feet and hurled back further. She then turned her body facing towards the cliffs. She stepped a few steps backwards from the cliff, stopped and then quickly sprinted forward and jumped into the dark abyss. Her vision darkened as she plundered deep in the crack. But she felt exhilarating, the only thing she heard was her heart racing. Surprisingly she landed on soft ground.

"_That was quick,"_ Klaus hissed from the pocket.

She felt something tickling her face and fingertips and when she sniffed in the air, she smelled something earthy, like grass and dirt. She slowly opened her eyes but the harsh sunlight pained her for a moment. When she quickly realized it was sunlight she picked her head up.

She looked around and found she was on a grass field. There were patches of colorful flowers on one corner and a tall orange tree standing next to a wooden bench on the other. Tall white metal fences surrounded the perimeter of the field and the only way to leave was through the fence door or through what looks like the back door of a house. Iris was unfamiliar with the house's architecture. It was panels of wood painted yellow. There were glass windows with metal bar that hold small flowerpots. The roof was triangular with brown titles. To Iris, the house looked well built compared to most huts muggles lived in.

Iris heard voice of two young males nearby. She turned her heard towards the voices the two young men looking down on her, both with shocked expressions. What caught her attention the most were the wands in their hands.

"_Wizard,"_ She thought.

One of the boys has dirty blonde hair, which gave a very rough look, as if he didn't spend much time on it. His eyes were emerald green. The other boy has jet-black hair, shoulder length, parted one way and surprisingly, it was nicely kept. He has deep blue eyes. Both of the men were looking as her as if she was an unknown species.

"Stephen, what the hell did you do? Did you just summon a demon?" The blonde man, Xavier Hawkins, yelled.

"Well, this is certainly not my broom," The dark haired boy said simply.

"Nooooooooo, of course this isn't your broom! Does this flesh eating demon look like a wooden stick with hay shooting from the back? I don't see nimbus 1943 written over her body!"

"_Flesh eating? How can one possibly look like they want to eat flesh? Unless I had large fangs protruding out from my mouth. Wait, do I? " _Iris thought as she raised her eyebrows. She wanted to open her mouth and say something but she didn't say a word. It was clearly that the young men were too busy absorbed in their quarrel than to pay any attention to her.

"No, but I know for sure we did not summoned a demon. One, they don't exist and two, you need to stop watching Dead by Dawn reruns," Stephens said, pointing his finger at the chest of the other boy.

"How did she get here? You were actually all cool and stuff, showing off how you can summon your broomstick here in Liverpool from Hogwarts. I knew it, you are tampering things you shouldn't tamper with."

"You are very wrong!" The dark boys voice grew louder. "I acknowledge that this was my fault but it was you who kept pushing me to perform the instant appear object spell."

"Gah! Forget who said what. We were not supposed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. They will catch us! We'll be in trouble….Oh no….we'll be expelled!" Xavier placed his hands on the side of his head and lightly tugged on his blonde curls.

"The Ministry of Magic would have sent someone right away or a howler. But we haven't received one at all," Stephen said. "For Merlin sake calm down,"

"Not yet! They probably still planning how to discipline us….Oh gosh!"

"Xavier!" The boy shook his friend

"Stephen Freeman!" His friend shook back.

Iris rolled her eyes. They looked liked an old couple bickering and what made her ticked was that fact they talk as if she didn't exist. She let out a light yawn. She felt a bit of fatigue probably because the last time she looked at the sky, it was dark. Here, the sky was bright blue without a trace of cloud and the sun emitting brightly.

"Children!" It was the perfect word to describe them even if they might be the same age as Iris.

The boys stopped and stared at her in awe, like the same shock when a baby speaking its first word.

"Your broom," Iris got up from the ground and patted her dark robes.

The broom was under her cloak. It was probably summoned a few seconds before her "landing". If the boy's summoning spell did not bring her here, who or what did?

Iris cleared her voice loudly, "My name is Iris. I just so happened to be in the wrong place. Do mind telling me where I am?"

They young men looked at her for while before they looked back at each other. It looked as if they reached an agreement that Iris was no threat.

"So you're not a demon from the underworld?" Xavier asked meekly.

"No, I'm a person, or human if that is the most appropriate word. Yes, I am a witch. No, I don't eat flesh but I like beef and pork." Iris answered amusedly.

Xavier lightly laughed but he wasn't sure how to response. It wasn't often to have a witch landing in your backyard. He hoped none of his neighbors saw her or he'll have to face the Ministry of Magic in court. Something he doesn't want to look forward to.

"This is Eton Village, in Eton, in an island called Britain," Stephen explained.

"Most people who resides here are muggles. There are some wizards and witches here but they are in the down low."

"Down low?" She asked.

"Means low profile. They are not supposed to reveal they are magic wielder to muggles. It's the law,"

"Same where I am from. It causes…unnecessary hysteria." Iris ran her hand through her dark hair to remove stray grass.

"So Iris, what brings you here. You don't look like you're from here," Xavier asked while pointing to her robes.

"I got in troubles with some muggles. I felt off a cliff and I ended up here. There isn't much I can say since I haven't have the slightest idea how I got here," Iris said as she rubbed her forehead for an incoming headache. "I was expecting to die."

"NO WAY!" Xavier's shocking loud voice was sudden; Stephen rubbed his possibly deaf left ear and smacked Xavier on the back of his head. "Oh, sorry…."

"Why were you expected to die? You done something heinous?" Stephen's blue eyes were looking straight at Iris's amber ones.

"NO! I've done something I shouldn't have but it had no ill intentions. Like I mentioned before, uncalled hysteria and confusion. To simply put this, muggles don't like witches," She said tiredly. "Before I can talk anymore, I need to lie down for a bit. I don't think I can stay awake any longer. I assumed this house belongs to one of you,"

"It's mine! I have a guest room you can stay in. My parents don't like me bringing girls over but they're won't be home for a while. Vacationing in Rome," Xavier said brightly. "They're on their 20th anniversary. I haven't got your full name yet. What is your last name?"

"Warwick," Iris lied. She had too. Her family has too many enemies in high and low places. Since her father's fiscal in Hogwarts, her family gained many enemies from muggleborns and their supporters. Since she's in a muggle neighborhood it was safe to assume the two boys were either muggleborns or had at least one magical parent. Purebloods never reside in the same place as muggles and lived in an exclusive magical community area. These boys might be supporters for Godric's cause. If they found out her father was one who initiated the eradication of muggleborns, they'll probably treat her with hostility. Iris was on the "down low" for now.

"Wow, War and Wick. Warwick. Sounds like a wicked name," Xavier smiled.

Xavier led them inside his house. It was a fairly average house in the community since all the houses were the exact same model, just a different paint job and a door number.

Once Iris walked inside, she instantly smelled lavender. It was a pleasant smelled but it made her nose tingled. She noticed the floor was paved with wooden panel that has a shine to it and the wall has a repeating pattern of yellow tulips. The "chair" could fit more than 4 people and it had soft material that made it perfect for one to sleep in. There were two lamps that were on the side of the "chair" but they were not turned on since a lot of sunlight of coming through the windows.

"Don't mind the wallpaper. It was my mother's idea," Xavier grunted with dislike. "The yellow flower wallpaper made the whole living looking like a senior citizen retirement home, ugh!"

"Don't worry, you won't be sleeping on the couch," He laughed.

"_Couch? Wallpaper?" _Iris thought confusedly.

She looked around the room more and saw in from of the couch was a glass box that had two metal rods sticking out.

"What is that?" She asked, pointing to the unknown object.

"Seriously?" Stephen asked. It felt like he had to teach a caveman how to adjust to modern society, and speak English, but then again, Iris was probably never exposed to any muggle setting if she was raised exclusively with wizards.

"Even that bloody wanker Malfoy doesn't know what a television is," Xavier muttered bitterly, loud enough for the three to hear. "Well, I don't mean it's a bad thing. You were probably raised in magical communities."

Iris walked around the room more. Her attention was lured to a particular shelf that was located on top of the fireplace. There were glass frame with picture in them. It seemed that Xavier was the only child in his family. There was a picture of his parents holding on to a younger Xavier. He had a cute bow tie around his neck. His mother looked very young and beautiful. Her hair was short length, volume and curled like most of the other women in the other pictures.

She took the frame and brought it closer to her face for further examination. She noticed on the bottom corner of the picture had words that printed "Jan 17, 1933."

Iris blinked in surprise and looked again. The printed words on the corner of the picture of Xavier with his parents clearly marked "Jan 17, 1933". She took a deep breath. She looked at the television and then to the small box lying on top of the table. The box had two nods on the front and words written "FM AM Radio". Iris noticed there was a model toy on the shelf next to the frames. It looked like giant metal bird but there was a doll inside wearing goggles. Everything was so novel and unusual to her. If this was muggle technology, then what does the magical community look like right now?

"Something's wrong?" Stephen asked as he stepped towards her. He looked at the photograph in her hand.

"Oh indeed, this is shocking. Look how fat Xavier was! You were much cuter when you were younger, now you're just an ass," Stephen lightly chuckled.

Xavier grunted at him and felt his ears turning flame red. "That bow tie was not my idea. My mother insisted me to wear that but it was hella uncomfortable.

Iris placed the picture back on the shelf.

"_1933? Did I time jump?" _Iris quickly touched her pocket. Klaus was still there and he apparently was sleeping. She sighed in relief and smacked her pocket, just hard enough to wake him up.

"_Hell! What was that for?" _Klaus hissed.

"_Just making sure you're here. I just found out we time jumped. It explains why the makeup of this house was strange," _

"_I couldn't even see the house! But it smell so much like lavender. So…how far have we "traveled"?" _

"_About a millennium…."_

"_Merlin's beard!"_

Xavier jumped back. "Oh my god! I heard a snake! Is there a snake here?"

Iris lightly laughed and took out Klaus from her pocket.

"Sorry, I had my familiar in my pocket. He's not poisonous and he's quite friendly with people," She brought her hands forward to him.

"Eh… no thanks. I never liked snakes. Ew ew ew!" Xavier waved his hands up.

"Now you're just being unfair," Stephen said, moving slowing toward Iris's hand. "This snake is adorable. It has pretty eyes." He gently stroked the head with a finger.

"_I like this person," _Klaus hissed.

"_You like anyone who touches you nicely," _Iris rolled her eyes.

"You speak parseltonuge? I just notice you were speaking to your snake," Stephen was surprised since there was only so little people in the world that can speak in parseltonuge, the Heir of Slytherin included.

"Well, we're I'm from, my whole community could speak in parseltonuge. It was a common to use it than English. There are different dialects of parseltonuge. I speak using a Western accent but you probably can't tell," It was no lie. It wasn't just her family who exclusively speaks parseltonuge but the Slytherin community. She wondered if it was still being used now because it was a crisis back then because the number of speakers was dwindling.

"Do you guys happen to know what date is it today?" She asked, trying not to raise suspicion.

"Here," Xavier pointed to a calendar that was hung up on the wall. "I usually forget what date were on since our semester hasn't started ye…ah, if 3 days ago was a Thursday then...today is a Sunday. August 21."

Iris wasn't interested in the date. She was much more interested in the year. On the calendar, printed in big red font, "1943".

"Well I'll be damned," She muttered.

**Author's Note**

**My first serious fanfiction publication! Believe me, being a college student and writing fanfiction is very difficult. I had this idea for a long time but it took so long to get it down on paper or computer lol. So I'm writing the first chapter during my winter break. **

**It was hard to write how Iris feels when she is struck with cultural barriers, so I tried my best.**

**For some back-story, Iris Slytherin is Salazar's daughter but he has many other children besides her. Could you guess what is her relationship (in terms of family tree) with Tom Riddle?**

**Leave a review. I'll be happy to know what you guys think of this story. Feel free to give suggestions. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**I was rereading Chapter 1 and there were many grammar mistakes. I'm apologizing T_T. I usually type continuously and rarely look back at my work. And I mixed up Liverpool and Eton.**

**Fact: They are in ETON!**

**I'll try to proofread as much as possible before I publish.**

**Chapter 2**

Spending the summer in Hogwarts was better than spending the summer at that dreadful orphanage. Tom Riddle finally has the absolute freedom he longed for. Credits to some staff members he has close ties with, he'll never have to go back to the orphanage ever again. He could just stay at the academy during the breaks and summers until he graduates. This place was the only place he could truly call home.

It was quiet in the Slytherin Common Room. The only ones who were present were Tom and his snake Nagini. Tom sat comfortably in "his" chair, black satin with gold trimmings. He had his legs crossed, elbows rested and hands together. He has a cup of early grey tea sitting on a table next to him. It'll only be a couple weeks before Hogwarts begins a new year.

This was by far the productive summer he ever had. With his recent discovery that he was the sole heir of Slytherin, he has to prove to everyone that he can live up to his linage. Over the past few weeks he has mastered spells unimaginable to wizards his age. He also gained many supporters from different houses other than his own who pledged their loyalty to him. In return, he will give them what they wanted, glory, power and most importantly, the purge of mudbloods.

Tom outlined his 6th year and he was confident that everything would go according to plan. He expected no "obstruction" in his path to greatness.

Meanwhile in Eton..

Iris Warwick held on to a glum expression. It was unheard of for anyone to leap through many years especially a millennium. She was mostly concern about her family, how they moved on without her. She wondered how her mother reacted when she didn't show up home the night she fell off the cliff.

Iris was the youngest and the only female out of her 5 siblings. She rarely saw her father at home since he was too occupied in educating the males of the family. She wasn't on bad terms with him, it's just the fact she wasn't an heir, or male. It didn't bother her so much since her mother adored her. Her sweet and quiet spoken mother gave in to many of Iris's wishes and defended her all the time whenever she gets catty with her brothers.

The girl wondered if her name appeared in history textbooks and what magical historian wrote of her. They probably wrote a paragraph on her, saying how she was a snake lover and her quiet character. But mostly importantly, does she have any descendants she could bank on, if she has any left. They'll probably understand her circumstances a lot better than most people. After all, blood is thicker than water. Iris considered it was much better if she kept a low profile on herself. It sounded ridiculous telling people you are 1000 years from the past. She supposed that in the history text, Iris Slytherin ran away or died in the hands of muggles, which were half-true.

"_Hello. I know this is a very inconvenient time but I'm one of your great ancestors. I accidently got myself in odd circumstances where I time jumped a thousand years. I seek for your help."_

That probably wasn't the best way to approach a distant relative. It sounded absolutely absurd.

Luckily she met Stephen Freeman and Xavier Hawkins who were very kind in helping her adjust to modern muggle society. They taught her how to use muggle technology such as toaster, oven, stove, television, radio and typewriter. She was still getting the hang with the toaster, she nearly Avada Kadavra it to pieces when the toast popped up, it "frightened" her. Iris was beginning to have a better understanding of their culture.

"Oh wait, this is called a recorder. It plays records!" Xavier said excitingly as he shown her his father's large record collection. He popped in Dorsey Brothers and began to slow dance. He swayed his hips from side to side and held him arms like as if he was holding someone.

"Could you please not do that?" Iris asked.

"Yea, it really disturbing," Stephen pitched in.

"You guys are such party poopers," Xavier mumbled, turning his head to his left and crossing his arms in defiance. "Hm!"

Iris asked about the school they attended. Both of them were up coming 6th years. Xavier was sorted in Gryffindor and Stephen in Ravenclaw. Xavier showed her a map of Hogwarts from his planner. There were many additional constructed buildings. The dormitory changed. Usually all the houses would stay in one building and the only thing segregated were genders.

"I thought you were raised with wizards. How could you not know about the Ministry of Magic?" Xavier asked, slowly sipping milk tea from his teacup.

"I lived with a radical clan. They didn't like the established magical community. They were very exclusive," Iris responded.

It was already evening in Eton. The warm neighborhood all of a sudden became deadly quiet. Though it was relatively the safest neighborhood but it was preferred to stay indoors when sun was down. Stephen decided to stay over to keep an eye out for Iris. It wasn't everyday a witch dropped in a muggle neighborhood. Because of the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald still lurking around, she could be one his follower.

The three sat in the main dining table, sipping on milk tea and butter cookies. They had dinner a while ago. Stephen was the cook and he made mean pasta. They were currently having a midnight snack.

"And this is called playboy, best creation on the planet!" Xavier chuckled as he handed her the latest addition.

Iris flipped through the magazine. She didn't reacted like most women would, upset or disturbed. She found it quite appealing.

"Women can show this much skin?" She pointed to women in a bikini. At her time a woman who worn a single layered gown was considered naked. Iris never understood fashion. The gowns worn by her mother was impractical to run in. She recalled the inconvenience of dueling in a 5 piece layered dress. Helena Ravenclaw almost lost a match because she nearly tripped over her dress. Hence why Iris preferred her battle robes. It was functional and she could kick and run.

"Well why not? You women were born with the most captivating physique. Why hide it?"

"It looks like a lot of work has to be put into it…and you are sounding like a dirty old man," Iris's amber eyes daggered at him but she continued to flipped through the serial. "I just can't believe a piece of fabric is actually clothing."

"Don't mind him. He is secretly a sick pervert. He tried creating a polyjuice potion to turn into Megan Fairfield and sneaked into the girl's restroom," Stephen remarked before he took a bite in his cookie. Chew*chew*

"Did he succeed?"

"No, far from it. The hair sample he had was wrong. It belonged to Alphard Black. He locked himself in the bathroom, waiting until the potion wear off," He explained. "It wasn't very fun staying with him throughout the whole muck. It was uneasy to hear Black's voice coming from behind the bathroom stall, complaining about how he could never get a girl in bed or a date on a Friday evening."

"_I see… the Black Family are prevalent to this day, so are Malfoy." _She noted herself_._

"Stephen, you're ruining the mood. She doesn't have to know that," Xavier was annoyed as he loudly used a spoon to mix sugar in his milk tea. "I could get a girl…if I tried."

"Well who was the idiot who wanted to sneak into the girl's restroom? That is really disgusting. I don't want to see a woman going through her bowel movement."

"Okay you got me but what about the girl's showering room?"

"I wouldn't. I have some dignity and respect, unlike you," Stephen loudly placed his teacup down onto the saucer.

"Boys boys…" Iris said in a calm tone. "Well enough about your mishaps with the polyjuice potion. Tell me more about Hogwarts,"

The tense mood quickly faded and the three resumed their oh-so-joy conversation.

"Let's see, we have about 3000 students, four different houses, talking portraits, staircases that moves, quidditch, ghosts, difficult classes…what else is there?" Xavier listed.

"Ghost? What ghosts are there?" Iris asked and proceeded to sip softly on the lukewarm tea.

"Bloody Baron, I don't know much about him, Peeves is a poltergeist. Oh, and Fat Friar and Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington aka Nearly Headless Nick. There probably more but these are the main ones. They are the house's ghosts. I nearly forgot, The Gray Lady, also known as Helena Ravenclaw," Stephen explained.

Iris was in disbelief. Helena Ravenclaw, a ghost at Hogwarts? Helena was her right-hand friend and whenever she had questions, Helena always had the answers. She was born with a mind of gold. Iris wondered if Helena still recognized her over the centuries. What did Helena do to bind herself to that place?

"Hmm… you can say Hogwarts is a lot more open than Beauxbatons Academy and Durmstrang Institute," Stephen said with a thoughtful expression.

"More open? In what way?"

"We accept muggleborns. Both of the schools only admit students who are pureblood of half-blood. Durmstrang is an exception. They only accept pureblood. Wait did you went to any magic school?"

"No…I was taught by tutors. I was mostly kept within neck of woods." Iris answered.

"But even if we accept muggleborns, there'll always be prejudices and discrimination," Stephen said as he looked down on his cup and fiddled with the teabag's string.

It was sickening he heard the word mudblood countless of times on every corridor. Some of his professors would give him a disgust look from time to time, with their nose in the air, employing their superiority. But Stephen was a brilliant student. Stephen was one of the few who always have a leading grade point average, surpassing majority of the pureblood students. When it came to wits, he always knows the best argument. It was not pleasant to have a class debate against him. He was planning to take the NEWT early unlike most who would take it during their 7th year. He wanted to break the social barriers of muggleborns and that they were just as capable as any wizards.

"Hello? You look tired and absentminded. Would you like to retire?" Iris asked as she stroked his upper arm.

"No, I'm fine," He waved a hand. "I have a lot on my mind. Mostly because the new semester is starting in two weeks."

"Iris, let me ask you one thing. Are you a pureblood?" Stephen asked. Xavier became quiet and looked at her. His expression was blank but Stephen looked somewhat solemn.

Iris pushed her teacup back toward the middle of the table. She then eyed at the both of them and looked grave.

"I'm half-half. My mother single handedly raised me. She told me my father was a muggle and left right before I was born. She said he couldn't accept my mother being a witch." Iris's voice was trembling slightly. "It was difficult for my mother because her clansmen looked down on her for being with a muggle. And a woman being single with a child was shamed upon."

If Iris could one thing well was being the perfect liar or in present day terms, an actress.

"But I'm not angry at my father for leaving my mother," Iris folded her finger together and stretched, breathing in and out. "He could have been killed if he stayed with her. She wouldn't want that. Sometimes he'll leave presents by the footstep of our door, to show he still cares."

Iris quickly recalled her mother telling her a story when she was so angry with her father. They had a rough argument over how he never spent any time with her or shown satisfactory with the things she did around the manor. Her mother locked her self in a guest room to cool off. When she got out, her father was sitting on the hallway with a rose bouquet in his hand. Iris remembered her mother saying how her father looked so pathetic and defeated that time. Her mother said she was so surprised she quickly locked herself in the guest room again. He had to apparate in the room just to get to her. Then after a passionate night, 9 month later, Iris popped out to the world.

Iris gagged every time she had to hear the story. It reddened her ears to know her existence came from her parents having "make up sex". She just learned the term in Playboy, page 34. Salazar was hotheaded but at times he could be considerate if only his wife is involved.

"That is the saddest story I ever heard," Xavier sniffed and wiped a tear with his sleeves. "Where are they now?"

Iris lightly giggled at his reaction and sighed. "They're together now I hope. I'll see them someday…" She said quietly, trying to hint that they pasted away. As of 1943, they're both dead.

Stephen Freeman felt like an idiot for assuming the worst in her. She was no different from him. She probably endured as much resentment from her clansmen as he did with old-minded classmates and professors.

He got up from his chair, went behind Iris and wrapped his arm around her neck. He wanted her to feel what he feels, that he would be there for her whenever she needed and protect her from harm. Iris gave a small smile. Then Xavier got up from his seat and hugged Stephen from behind who was hugging Iris.

"What the hell are you doing?" Stephen snapped.

"HUGGING!" Xavier shouted, squeezing Stephen tightly around his abdomen. Stephen's eyes widened when he became aware that Xavier was sniffing the back of his head. "You need a bath. You should use my mother's shampoo. It's aloe scented."

"You inconsiderate-!" He let go of Iris and pushed Xavier away who nearly tripped over a pile of newspaper. He regained his balance and was in "I was trying to be nice but you asked for it" fight mode.

"Boys!" Iris felt another headache was coming.

**Reviews would be great! The story development is slow but I'm still plotting out which direction to go in. Yes, Xavier has a weird fixation on Stephen. JKJK…..half way.**


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